Wander into any chemist and you’ll find a plethora of different hair dye products available for purchase. They all promise instant, affordable, amazing looking hair colour. So is it really there a difference between getting your hair dyed at a salon vs DIY? With so much free advice available about how to easily colour your hair yourself, including countless professionally shot tutorials on YouTube, who could blame you for wondering why you would bother paying so much more at a salon?

Price vs Value

Listen up because here’s the deal – you ABSOLUTELY get what you pay for when it comes to your hairdresser’s expert knowledge and application. Think about the years of training and experience versus you in your bathroom armed with nothing but a dye kit and a whole bunch of blind optimism. If you do manage an end result that matches the picture on the front of the box you just purchased, seriously, you probably should think about a career change. 🙂

Much more than coffee and head massages

Now think about your favourite hair salon. While you lean back in your comfy salon chair, sipping your double shot latte and flicking through the latest mags, someone else is taking all the responsibility for making you look fabulous. At a salon, you’re getting the practical application skills from your colourist that comes with years of training and practice. You are paying for this, and their expert knowledge of colour application that helps them tailor your hair exactly the way you want it to look while keeping it as healthy as possible.

Living on the edge

Doing your own hair can turn out fine, but it’s risky. Worst case scenario you could end up with irreversible damage to your hair. The colour could come out completely wrong, or the application could end up uneven and patchy (painting the hair on the back of your head is a little tricky, to say the least!). So even though it’s more expensive from the outset, a botched job could end up costing you a lot more in one or more trips back to your hairdresser for some colour correction sessions.

Take care of your hair

If you are prepared to try your hand at dyeing your hair yourself, make sure you do plenty of research beforehand. You’ll want to know how your base colour will affect the dye you’re applying, and what the best techniques are for colour application. A really good idea is to experiment with semi-permanents until you build your confidence up. And as always, make sure you follow the process with excellent hair care, using top quality shampoo and conditioner and intensive moisturizing treatments to keep your hair healthy and nourished.